Clam pearls are gems found in freshwater bivalve mussels, often with irregular shapes and less luster than cultured pearls. They come in various colors and were collected by Native Americans as ornaments. The pearls form when the mussel secretes calcium carbonate around a foreign irritant. Quahog clam pearls found along the East Coast of the US are popular for their purple shades. Clam pearls were also used to make buttons in the past.
A clam pearl is a generic description of gems found within some bivalves located around the world. Clam pearls in different colors and patterns are the ones most appreciated by collectors. They can grow quite large, but are usually smaller than the saltwater pearls found in oysters. A clam pearl is typically not completely round and lacks the high luster found in cultured pearls.
Also called river pearls, clam pearls usually come from freshwater bivalve mussels that live in rivers and streams. The mussel as a food source dates back to the natives who regularly ate the soft-bodied mollusk. Clam beads were collected by Native Americans as precious ornaments that were worn and traded.
A clam pearl contains a thin coating of a substance similar to calcium carbonate. The mussel secretes this substance to coat a foreign irritant that enters the shell during feeding. Clams open and close two hinged shells to feed, but sometimes a parasite or other foreign body goes unfiltered and irritates the mussel’s soft body. Over time, the calcium carbonate secretions develop into a pearl.
Cultured pearls are generally more valuable than clam pearls due to their perfectly round shape and luminosity. A clam pearl can be found in several different colors, but white is the most common. Other colors range from pink to lavender to a rare blue clam bead sought after by collectors. The color of a clam pearl is determined by the type of mussel that produces it.
Soft clams found along the East Coast of the United States produce quahog clam pearls with various shades of purple. These irregular saltwater pearls quickly became popular for their distinctive colors. They might be prized for the irregular shapes that differ so much from more expensive cultured pearls.
The shape of a clam pearl depends on where it is located within the shell. Some form on the lip of bivalves, which tends to make them rounder. Others that might be wing-shaped develop on the back of the shell. Most clam pearls are attached to the bead of a seashell, which explains their irregular shapes. A perfectly round clam pearl is quite rare.
In the past, shells were collected and used in pearl button factories. At one point, there are more than 40 button makers in Iowa along the Mississippi River in the United States. Factory workers cut circles from the shells, which were ground and polished with pumice stone and water. Holes were punched in the final product to create buttons used in the clothing industry.
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